About jmellicker

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First impression is that Apple have essentially told us about all the cool new features and left out the fact that they won’t be including a lot of the vital old ones. This doesn’t seem to me to be an editing package for anything other than “Bob and Mary’s home wedding.” I think Apple have just lost their market as the fastest growing editing software package in international broadcast. No least with the announcement that they are ceasing further production of FCP express and FCP studio (with FCP 7).

Problems:
– No EDL support
– No OMF export (one wonders how you are supposed to go to final mix)
– No XML import or export, this has been replaced with an “import project from iMovie” setting.
– No ability to use old plugins.
– No separate viewer (only a canvas)
– No ability to ingest or strip video to or from tape, card-only support.
– No JPEG still frame export (only TIF and PNG)
– Limited compression formats to work in.
– Even the way the interface interacts with the mouse is irritating and I can imagine quite annoying on longer projects because you’ll constantly have to search for where you wanted to play from because you accidentally left the cursor hovering over the timeline.

Some nice features but the problems vastly outweigh the advantages and I don’t see how any seasoned professional working on high-end workflows could possibly call this an improvement, if anything it hampers work-flow, especially when trying to incorporate older projects or send audio for final mix.

I think I’m going to ask for my money back. Time to look into Avid me thinks. I’m livid and gutted by Apple’s new direction. I agree with some of the pundits. It really is iMovie Pro, it doesn’t deserve the (up until now) solid and highly reputable FCP name.

How can so many people be dissing FCP X without really running it through its paces? I have been using it for about 10 hours and one thing stands out–much more efficient and excellent in letting you keyword everything for max organization.

Ok this has been bugging me for a while. You can actually tag your clips still sitting in the browser, or entire segments of clips in FCP7 and search them. It’s certainly not as complete as FCPX, but it not exactly new either. And any of the new things that FCPX can do, I can do them in FCP7. Maybe with a couple more steps but I can do it. I mean, you have trouble staying in sync? Really? And you’re not organized enough to move things around in your timeline without destroying everything? You need a magnetic timeline for that? You know what my magnetic timeline is? The select tool. It works great. Connected Clips? B-roll attached to a clip? You mean like a B-roll clip that sits on track two? Even audition clips there is a work around for that in FCP7 (oh, but now we have coverflow, I forgot).
And what is the difference between nests and compound clips already? Come on. None of the new feature are THAT amazing. 64 bit, yes, background rendering if it work yes, analyzing the shots, yes, but magnetic timeline? Hardly.
On the other end multicliping: no. And Apple work around for that is the one we use to use until v.5 and it sucked. Create a folder? no. Customize your interface… no.
Come on guys, maybe the outcry wouldn’t be so dramatic if all the fanboys weren’t so overly enthusiastic.

Please do not take this as an attack, but as a constructive criticism. And I am not calling you fanboys.

@Amanda – I have posted it, I posted it under “What’s missing in Final Cut Pro X?”

@Arthur – It’s very easy to diss FCP X without running it through its paces because it stumps broadcast professionals from the start. No XML (so can’t import any existing projects from previous versions) and no OMF (so final mix outside of final cut is difficult at best). I can’t imagine having to phone my final mixer up and say “Hi, yeah the project is done. Could you come over to my place and mix it there? There will be none of the tools you usually have to master audio for broadcast but FCP X does it for you… Apple say so.” I imagine he’ll be quite insulted by that.

Sure it has some really nifty features but when it lacks vitally important components then it can be dissed quite easily. Think of it as a human body with its heart removed. Apple are saying “but we have a new improved human being for you to interact with!” We’re saying: “Yes but it can neither breathe nor talk nor move and all because it’s missing a few vital components, please put them in and make it work… when it does call us and you can have your $300.”

I hope this forum is not just about bashing FCP X, but also about how to get (new) things going 😉

My background: I am one of those “prosumers which probably are going to like FCP X” – very true 😉 I never used iMovie though (too simple), I started editing digital media in 1999 with a Miro DC1 on an 486 (!) with Premiere 4.x – just recently I bought Final Cut Express, and on day one FCP X. I’d really like import of older projects, too (even though I am not too optimistic about Express projects 😉

Anyway, here’s my actual question: is there a video effects comparison list/name mapping somewhere? Particularly I am missing the “blink effect”, the one which lets you specifiy an interval in which frames are dropped (and the underlying media is shown instead). Was this (IMHO) very basic filter dropped in favour of the “oh-so-useful-night-vision-goggles”-filter? 😉

If not (and I am assuming not) there needs to be one. Not for the mere empty-headed vacuous “joy” of bashing something but because that’s the easiest and most efficient way to get satisfied users to answer some of these unbelievable and downright frustrating questions starting with “Why?”. After 6 hours on our editor’s machine 3 of us are disappointed. Even with XML and OMF and a few of the other “ouch I am missing a limb” added we simply are not interested in beta-testing what looks like a wrong turn by Apple. Fanboys? You betcha! Idiots?
No.
In February Steve Jobs reportedly told someone the new FCP would be “Kickass”. That memo never left his office apparently.

i just got the new macbook pro with Lion os and want to purchase FCPx . How do you write you video to DVD if you can’t purchase IDVD anymore. I’m Trying to learn a little before I purchase and see a lot of great info on this forum.
I have been wanting a Mac for 10 years and now I buy one and everything changes – LION OS, FCPX, do I need compressor 4 ? and Motion 5?
Thanks for any help
Tony

I want to buy FCPX right away but wanted to know, Do I have to buy Motion 5 and Compressor 4? how do you write finished product to dvd, LION OS does not have IDVD what do you use in it’s place? Thanks in advance if you can help